Adjusting the pH in a meat product may be desirable for several reasons. For example, a modifying the pH of a meat product with ammonia has been shown to inhibit microbe growth in the treated meat product and to reduce live microbe count in the treated meat product.
A pH adjustment in a meat product may be produced by treating one meat product with a pH modifying material and then mixing that treated meat product with another meat product to produce a final product having a desired adjusted pH. When mixing two meat products together having two different pH characteristics, it is desirable to ensure that the two meat products are evenly distributed in the final product to produce a uniform pH in the final product. It is also desirable to produce this generally homogeneous pH without having to work the materials excessively. Working the meat products excessively may produce undesirable characteristics in the final mixed meat product.